Imperial Germany:
Late July 1915, Rufiji River estuary, Tanzania. Light cruiser SMS Königsberg lies on the riverbed, scuttled following a battle with two RN monitors several days prior.
Königsberg initially attempted to raid British and French commercial traffic in the region, but only destroyed one merchant ship in the course of her career. Coal shortages hampered her ability to attack shipping. On 20 September 1914, she surprised and sank the British
protected cruiser HMS Pegasus in the
Battle of Zanzibar.
Königsberg then retreated into the
Rufiji River to repair her engines. Before the repairs could be completed, British cruisers located
Königsberg, and, unable to steam into the river to destroy her, set up a blockade. After several attempts to sink the ship during the
Battle of Rufiji Delta, the British sent two
monitors,
Mersey and
Severn, to destroy the German cruiser. On 11 July 1915, the two monitors got close enough to severely damage
Königsberg, forcing her crew to scuttle the ship. The surviving crew salvaged all ten of her main guns and joined Lieutenant Colonel
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's guerrilla
campaign in East Africa.
Königsberg was partially broken up in 1963–1965 for scrap, and the remains sank into the riverbed.